In repairing automobile suspension devices, such as the MacPherson strut, it is generally necessary to compress the surrounding coil spring to relieve the load on the strut and then remove the shock absorber unit for replacement or repair of the unit. Presently available spring compressors for repair of MacPherson struts generally comprise a pair of arcuate vise-like shoes or jaws, which are inserted between spaced coils of the spring and then squeezed together by a suitable means, such as a threaded bolt, to compress the spring. Generally, however, such spring compressors can only grip coils intermediate the length of the spring, and cannot grip the spring at or near its extremities. Accordingly, it may be necessary to compress the intermediate portion of the spring several inches before the end coils are sufficiently relaxed to relieve the spring load against the end mounting plates of the strut. One such spring compressor is shown and described in my prior U.S. patent No. 4,276,684.
Another disadvantage of known coil compressors resides in the fact that it is necessary to enter the coil spring laterally from one side in order to compress the coils. That leaves the opposite side of the spring unprotected. If the grip on the compressed coil is suddenly and inadvertently released, there is nothing to prevent the spring from being projected suddenly, and under significant spring force, from the clamp, possibly to cause damage and/or serious bodily injury.